The Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has announced that Justice B.Y.K. Oppong, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, is to be recalled from his position as Director of Legal Education at the General Legal Council to take up full judicial duties with effect from 1 September 2025.
Justice Oppong, who was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 31 July 2024, was seconded to the General Legal Council to head the Ghana School of Law as Director of Legal Education.
In a formal communication dated 8 August 2025, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie expressed appreciation for Justice Oppong’s “significant contribution” to professional legal education during his tenure.
The role will be handed over to Professor Raymond A. Atuguba, former Dean of the University of Ghana School of Law, who has been appointed Acting Director of Legal Education. Professor Atuguba will serve in this capacity while a search committee is established to appoint a substantive Director.
The letter was copied to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, the Judicial Secretary and Secretary to the General Legal Council, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Registrar of the Ghana School of Law, members of the General Legal Council, and the Director of Human Resources.
The current Director of Legal Education and Head of the Ghana School of Law, Justice Nana Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong, announced on Tuesday, 12 August 2025, that he will step down from his role effective Sunday, 31 August 2025.
In a notice to students, Justice Oppong expressed gratitude to God “for His love, guidance and protection over the past three years.”
He noted that, although he had hoped to complete his full term or at least see through the current academic year and the forthcoming Call to the Bar ceremony, “sadly that was not to be.”
Justice Oppong conveyed his best wishes to Part II students, expressing his “earnest prayer” that all would be called to the Bar in October, while encouraging Part I students to persevere in their studies and advance to the next stage of their training.
He urged students to extend “even greater respect, cooperation and support” to his successor, as well as to the management and staff of the institution.
“May God richly bless you all and grant us success in every endeavour. Thank you,” he concluded.
The private legal practitioner was appointed as Director of Legal Education at the General Legal Council (GLC) in March 2022. The Director of Legal Education also serves as the Director of the Ghana School of Law (GSL).
At the time of his appointment, he was a senior lecturer at the School, taking over from Mr Kwasi Prempeh-Eck, who is set to retire. Mr Prempeh-Eck was a senior lecturer at GSL from 1999 and also served as a senior associate at JLD & MB Legal Consultancy from 1999 to 2007.
Mr Oppong assumed duty at the start of the 2022/23 academic year. His appointment was made in accordance with the Legal Profession Act, 1960, which mandates the GLC to appoint a Director for GSL.
Mr Oppong is the Manwerehene of Akyem Abuakwa, with the stool name Omansomfo Barima Oppong Kodie. The solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana is also the Managing Partner of Ampofo, Oppong and Associates, a law firm in Accra.
He has lectured at several universities in Ghana, including Central University, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Graphic Communications Group.
Mr Oppong has extensive expertise in Energy and Natural Resources Law, as well as in Banking and Finance Law, having worked as a lawyer for several banking and financial institutions in Ghana. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.
He was recently installed as Mawerehene of Akyem Abuakwa, one of the sub-chiefs of the Akyem Abuakwa Paramountcy.
Yaw Oppong is also a prolific writer and the author of numerous articles and books, including Contemporary Trends in the Law of Immovable Property in Ghana, as well as an online article titled “Domesticating Dispute Resolution Arising from Petroleum Agreements in Ghana.”
For several years, he has been a regular resource person contributing to discussions on a wide range of legal issues and is a familiar face on various media platforms in Ghana.
He obtained his first degree in Law from the University of Ghana and qualified as a Barrister-at-Law from the Ghana School of Law, Makola, Accra. He also holds a Master’s degree in Oil and Gas Law (LLM) from the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon.
